Benjamin Moore Neutral 720 colors. Ten worth a sample.

LRV stands for Light Reflectance Value. It runs from 0 (black, absorbs all light) to 100 (pure white, reflects all of it). It is the single most useful number for predicting how light or heavy a color will feel once it covers a whole room.

For bright, airy walls, stay high. Fondant (AF-255) at 86.1 and Plaster of Paris (CSP-185) at 73 keep a space open and reflect daylight. Mid-range picks like Limestone (513) at 67.8, Wisp of Mauve (2098-60) at 60, and Blanched Almond (1060) at 51 give you color you can actually see without losing brightness. Drop into the 40s and lower for cozier, grounded rooms. Sand Pebble (2105-50) at 42.5 reads as a true mid-tone, Thicket (AF-405) at 34 goes deeper and warmer, and Alligator Green (2143-20) at 23 is genuinely dark. A good rule for small or low-light rooms is to lean toward higher LRV so the space does not feel like it is closing in.

Lighter neutrals do the most work in spaces you want to feel calm and open. The high-LRV picks like Fondant and Plaster of Paris suit bedrooms, living rooms, hallways, and any north-facing room that needs a lift. Mid-tones such as Limestone, Blanched Almond, and Sand Pebble are comfortable in kitchens, dining rooms, and offices where you want warmth without a strong color statement.

Save the deeper neutrals for rooms that can carry drama. Thicket and Alligator Green look rich in a den, a powder room, or an accent wall with good lighting. For sheen, kitchens and baths do best in a scrubbable Regal Select or Aura finish, while bedrooms and living rooms can run flatter. Aura is the flagship line and the one to choose when you want the best chance at full coverage in a single coat.

Benjamin Moore is sold only through independent dealers, not the big-box stores. There is no pre-filled can of any of these colors on a shelf. Every color is mixed to order at the store: the dealer tints a base in the line you choose, so the same Limestone (513) can come in ben (around $56 a gallon), Regal Select (around $75), or Aura (around $95). You pick the color, then pick the finish and the line.

Because these are mix-to-order, you are not locked to one brand. A dealer or color tool can cross-match a Benjamin Moore neutral to a near-equivalent in another US deck, and the same works in reverse if you fall in love with a color elsewhere. The featured Kompozit deck can be matched the same way, since any tinting machine builds the formula to hit the target color. When you cross-match, compare the LRV first: matching that number gets you a far closer result than matching a name or a chip under store lighting.